Illinois, California declare states of emergency over monkeypox outbreak


Democratic Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois on Monday both declared states of emergency over monkeypox, as the latest virus of note continues to spread nationwide, CNN reports.
New York was the first state to declare a state of emergency, having done so on Friday, per The New York Times. California then followed Illinois on Monday.
An emergency declaration allows the state to access extra resources — like additional medical services personnel and vaccines — as well as better streamline its public health response.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
California is "working urgently" to "slow the spread of monkeypox" by "leveraging our robust testing, contact tracing, and community partnerships" that were strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic, Newsom wrote in a statement, per CNN.
Pritzker, meanwhile, said he was declaring a state of emergency to "expand the resources and coordination efforts of state agencies in responding to, treating, and preventing the spread of [monkeypox]."
Monkeypox is a smallpox-like virus that often causes pimple-esque pox on the skin, as well as "flu-like symptoms such as fever, headaches, muscle aches, chills and respiratory symptoms," CNN writes. It spreads via close and typically skin-to-skin contact. Approximately 6,000 cases have been reported nationwide since May, and almost half of them have been in California, Illinois, and New York, the Times reports.
Men who have sex with men comprise roughly 99 percent of cases, but health officials have stressed that the "virus can spread to anyone who has prolonged skin-to-skin contact with a person who has the rash," the Times adds.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
5 costly cartoons about the national debt
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on the USA's financial hole, rare bipartisan agreement, and Donald Trump and Mike Johnson.
-
Green goddess salad recipe
The Week Recommends Avocado can be the creamy star of the show in this fresh, sharp salad
-
The Biden cover-up: a 'near-treasonous' conspiracy
Talking Point Using 'Trumpian' tactics, the former president's inner circle maintained a conspiracy of silence around his cognitive and physical decline
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges